Practice Makes Perfect
by inuluvskags1
Summary: The final battle had devastating effects and Kagome was at the brink of death. As a reward and compensation, she was given the chance to be born again, this time with another path laid out for her. And it started with a game called soccer.
1. Chapter 1

Practice Makes Perfect

_Chapter one: Her lost memory?_

_._

She lay there, dying in a field littered with blood and corpses; some of the blood staining her clothes was not her own. Her companions stood by her side with sorrowful demeanors and their tears matting the already blood soaked grass. She knew she would perish very soon, her breath slowing down and her tattered heart would give out at any moment.

The injuries her body held were many, but she didn't care. No, all she cared about at the moment was the defeat of their greatest enemy, the cruel half demon by the name of Naraku. She had been the one to ensure his demise would be one of the most painful possible by purifying him from the inside out.

Victory however, came at the price of her life; the half demon pierced her abdomen with a tentacle before disappearing with an enraged scream, never to be seen again.

_A life for a life then, I guess. _

She felt a small droplet fall onto her cheek and when she glanced at the source she discovered it was the small kit she had taken in weeks after she had first fallen down the well. Her arm seemed to have been made of lead when she lifted it up to the little fox, cupping his face with her calloused hand and whispering encouraging words to his sensitive ears.

"Min...na... i-it's been a pleasure to fight alongside you. Take c-care of yourselves" Her voice was strained, her throat feeling raspy even as she breathed.

Sango sobbed, falling to her knees beside Kagome and clutching onto her free hand like a lifeline "Forgive me Kagome, I'm so sorry" not wanting her friend to feel sad, Kagome weakly squeezed the hands holding hers with a small smile "Stop crying Sango-chan, just smile for me, can you?" The demon slayer complied with a shaky nod.

Miroku looked away to hide the tears forming in his eyes, his clenched fists an indication to his inner conflict. "...Miroku-sama... take care of Sango and Shippo for me, please?" The monk didn't trust his voice enough not to quiver so he nodded, his eyes reflecting his sadness.

"Kagome..." The silver-haired half demon struggled for words "Be... happy, Inuyasha. Live... for me?" just as she was about to draw her final breath, a piercing white light enveloped her form. The others backed away, stunned.

_"You will not die today, priestess." _An oddly androgynous sounded from within her, the jewel of four souls pulsed to life and then she disappeared without a trace.

_Where am I?_

_You are inside of the jewel of four souls child, we brought you here for your compensation. _

_Oh... what kind of compensation? _Kagome watched the silhouette of a woman come closer until she could identify her.

_Lady Midoriko... _She bowed in respect, knowing the great power of the being in front of her.

_There is no need for that child. You have saved us all from an eternity of despair and you must be rewarded for it. We will give you two options, listen closely._

The former time traveler nodded, shifting tense muscles in the odd black space she and Midoriko were floating in.

_The first is to pass on to the highest heaven, to be protected by the best shinigami in existence._

Kagome grimaced slightly at the thought and motioned for Midoriko to continue speaking. The warrior chuckled before she spoke.

_The second option however, is to be born anew along with your family. Be warned though that by the first loss in your life that is destined to be, you will remember everything that occurred to you, everything you learned will come back from its sealed place in your mind. Your family will remember your trips to the era of the past. The scars that now litter your body will return, the pain of each one you will feel for but a moment, though for some that is enough. _

It was obvious to Kagome and to Midoriko which she would en up choosing, the pain of the past would be weighed down by the joy of the future in Kagome's eyes.

_Lady Midoriko? _

_Yes child, do you have a question?_

_Am I destined to be alone, speaking of love I mean..._

The elder priestess laughed and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

_It seems the Kami arranged this quite well. You will meet the one your red string leads to in the future. _

Midoriko began to glow a soft blue light.

_I take it you choose the second option?_

A small nod was her only response and light engulfed them all.

_Modern Day Tokyo_

Sharp cries of a newborn tore through the silence of a white hospital room where a woman lay in bed panting from recently having given birth.

"Congratulations, Higurashi-san. It's a healthy little girl." the kind doctor gave the child bundled up in a pink blanket to the awaiting arms of her mother, touched by the warm scene they made.

"Hello little one, what should your name be?" a soft pink glow emitted from the center of the baby's chest; the girl gurgled happily and opened her eyes, surprising Kun-Loon with her stormy blue eyes.

"Hm... Kagome. Yes that will do just fine, Kagome Higurashi" The doctor quickly wrote down the name on his clipboard and left the room to alert the family members of the child's birth.

"You're going to do great things, my little Kagome. I'm sure of it"

Unknown to her, Midoriko stood next to her with a small smile one her face, her hand caressing the baby's small tuft of black hair. _Yes Kagome, you'll do great things as you did before, though perhaps invoking less tragedy and sadness like the previous one._

The spirit gave one last look at the child she guarded in the past and disappeared.

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End Of Chapter One

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**I know I shouldn't be starting another crossover but this one has been bugging me for a while and I was just itching to write it down.**

**Also, I do not own any of the characters used in this FanFiction (except for the doctor) so please do not take this as copyright infringement. I'm just a fan way in over my head, that's all :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Fair warning for the next chapter: It's going to be _long_.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inazuma Eleven or Inuyasha, no matter how much I wish I did.**

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Practice Makes Perfect

_Chapter two: What is soccer?_

A bright sunny day greeted a small five-year-old girl running down the steps of her grandfather's shrine, not really placing any particular care in where she set her foot down while she quickly descended the long staircase. It was when she stepped on a wobbly stone slab that she completely lost what little balance she had at her age and toppled painfully down the rest of the stairs, which were fortunately only four more.

"AH- oomph" The girl's scream was cut short and the air was knocked out of her lungs in her collision with someone else, breaking her fall.

"Itai, itai! That really hurt..." a little boy groaned from his place sprawled out on the hard sidewalk and rubbed his sore head, holding himself up by his elbow.

"Nngh"

Startled, the boy looked down feeling the weight of something over his legs that hadn't been there before only to find out it was a girl, the same one that had fallen down the stairs. She too rubbed her head; squeezing her eyes shut in pain with small tears forming in the corners of her eyes. _Ow, ow, ow. _Reluctantly opening her eyes after wiping away the tears she stood up, blue eyes widening after she noticed the boy she had landed on.

The girl bowed low to her waist, her mouth going a mile a minute with apologies "I'm so sorry, I wasn't paying attention and I fell down the steps, please forgive me!" Seeing him still on the ground, confused, she helped him stand up with a few more muttered apologies.

The boy simply shook his head and extended a hand to her while smiling "It's ok, my name's Mamoru Endō, what's your name?"

"Oh my name is Kagome Higurashi, nice to meet you Endō-san" Kagome shook his hand with a smile of her own.

"It's ok, just Mamoru" he shrugged and adjusted his orange headband "Alright Mamoru-kun, then you can call me Kagome if you want to." She opened her mouth to say something else but then Kagome caught sight of a black and white ball at the foot of the shrine stairs. Curious, Kagome kneeled and picked it up before fixing her blue sundress back into place.

"Hey is this yours?" she gestured to the ball in her hands.

Mamoru nodded hurriedly and took the ball from her, grinning. "Yep. This is my soccer ball"

Tilting her head, Kagome mulled over the new word "Soccer? What's that?" Mamoru stared at the confused girl in shock, his eyes rivaling the size of dinner plates and his jaw dropped in disbelief. _No way, she doesn't know what soccer is? _Determined to introduce his new friend into the amazing world of soccer, Mamoru launched into an explanation with Kagome paying very close attention.

Some time during their discussion they had moved over to sit on the stairs, until Kagome decided to ask Mamoru something she deemed important.

"Will you teach me how to play? Pretty please?" She thought he was about to refuse so she clasped her hands in front of her and did what her father called "Puppy eyes" by widening them a bit and tearing them only a little, trembling her lip completed the look.

"Um uh Yeah! Of course I will!" He didn't know what to make of the look Kagome was giving him but Mamoru knew he couldn't say no while she looked at him that way. He didn't know _how_ he knew that, he just did.

The kids walked down the street to a nearby park that turned out to be Kagome's original destination and stayed there until their respective mothers came looking for them, which was when the sun was just beginning to set.

It was a rather comical scene the women found their children in, what with Kagome trying to bounce the ball on her head then knees and Mamoru standing beside her looking like a true coach; his little arms crossed and feet apart while he corrected Kagome's movements and instructed her on a better way to get the trick done.

Once they had reached their children, the two of them were surprised to see each other.

"Kun-Loon? What are you doing here?" Baffled, the woman in question looked up from her daughter and smiled at her friend from middle school "Probably the same thing as you Atsuko, just here to pick up my little girl" Kun-Loon nodded towards Kagome.

Atsuko mentally squealed at the sight of the little girl who looked so much like her friend and she kneeled to her height with her hand stretched out "Hello there sweetie, what's your name?" suddenly feeling shy, Kagome slowly shook the woman's hand "My name's Kagome Higurashi. Um... are you Mamoru-kun's mommy?" Atsuko nodded "Yes, I'm Atsuko, Mamoru's mother."

Meanwhile, Kun-Loon was doing a similar introduction with Mamoru although the boy was way more outgoing than Kagome and was somewhat chastising Kun-Loon in his own child like way about the fact of Kagome not knowing the importance of soccer. Shaking her head in amusement, Kun-Loon continued to listen to Mamoru say how soccer was a great sport.

"We should meet up tomorrow Atsuko, it seems our kids are already good friends" Kagome took her mother's hand and waved goodbye to Mamoru.

"See you tomorrow then Mamoru-kun!" the boy smiled widely "Bye Kagome-chan, let's play more soccer tomorrow too!" the grown-ups said their goodbyes and then left to their respective houses, their children looking over their shoulders to wave one last time at each other.

Over the years they kept meeting up in that very same park or in each other's houses and every time they did they had improved their skills in soccer even more than the last time they had gotten together. Mamoru and Kagome became best friends in the first year they had known each other and their mothers were quite happy that they got along as well as they did. The two of them knew almost everything there was to know about the other and they were always there when one needed someone to talk to, whether it was in person or on the phone.

Mamoru had come by when the news of Kun-Loon's pregnancy had reached his home, the kids making their parents laugh with their silly discussion.

_"Ne, Kagome-chan, why didn't you say your mom was having a baby?" the boy whined dramatically, causing a few giggles to erupt from Kagome's mouth._

_"I just thought mom was getting a big tummy 'cuz she was eating a lot all the time" She shrugged._

_"What do you want it to be, a boy or a girl?" by that time all the adults were listening in on the conversation. _

_"It's obvious Mamoru-kun, I want it to be a boy"_

_"huh? But I thought girls only want sisters..." Kagome shook her head "No 'cuz then I can't teach her soccer if she starts to think like all the other girls. She'd say 'Nooo soccer is for boys and dollies are for girs' or something like that" Kagome's father laughed heartily at her answer._

Imagine their surprise when Kun-Loon gave birth to a boy they named Souta.

Then after Kagome's eighth birthday rolled around, it being two months before Mamoru's, her father and grandmother died in a car crash. Mamoru's parents were there to console Kun-Loon and Mamoru comforted Kagome to the best of his ability.

_"Don't cry Kagome-chan! Your dad wouldn't have liked to see you sad, he'd want you to be happy instead a-and go outside and have fun" He had said to the sniffling girl curled up on the couch of her new home; Kun-Loon had moved the little family in with her father-in-law to help him out with the shrine and to take care of him._

_"I-I know you're right Mamoru-kun, but it still hurts..." _

A year later was Mamoru's first soccer match against another school and Kagome was right there to cheer him on, whooping when his team scored a goal.

_"Yeah! Go Mamoru-kun! Don't let them get a single goal in!" _

Each of her cheers made him more confident and he managed to block all but one of the balls kicked his way. The final score of the game was 4-1 with his team being the winner.

_"That was so cool Mamoru-kun! You were all like v-shooom and then fuaaah and you won!" Kagome made wide gestures with her arms to demonstrate her point "Thanks Kagome-chan!" they grinned._

The memories that had been sealed within the Higurashi were unlocked a few days after that, the scars appearing on Kagome during one of Mamoru's visits. Each of the scars caused the same pain to Kagome like when they were inflicted though thankfully only lasted a few seconds each. Mamoru was shocked into stupor and came out of it after Kagome nudged him.

_"Can you keep a secret?"_

What the answer to Kagome's question was plain obvious and Mamoru swore to never tell anyone without Kagome's permission. Atsuko found out later on thanks to Kun-Loon.

They entered middle school and kept seeing each other just as often, though Kagome usually came to his house unlike before.

Another year passed and they were a few weeks into their second year of middle school, attending different schools since Mamoru lived in Inazuma and Kagome lived in Tokyo.

Which was why Kun-Loon was wondering whether or not she should transfer her child to Inazuma, seeing as there were more opportunities to attend schools known for their soccer teams. She had called Atsuko the day before with the idea in mind and the other woman proposed that Kagome could move in with her family if she did decide to send her to school in Inazuma.

Now in the kitchen, she debated the idea with the only other adult living in the Higurashi shrine.

"So, should we send her there?" calmly sipping his tea, Takeo Higurashi eyed his daughter-in-law critically; he knew what she was talking about, of course he did. His granddaughter was an aspiring young athlete and on her way to being a professional soccer player, he couldn't be more proud at her progress, not to mention she always completed her shrine duties to perfection including the complete mastery of archery. So how could he say no to something that would undoubtably bring her closer to achieving her dream?

"We will, so go on and instruct her to have her things packed by tomorrow, the train leaves early you know." Kun-Loon smiled and stood up from her chair, going to inform her daughter of great plans they had for her.

Even from his place in the yard, Souta heard an excited squeal coming from the upper level of his house that shocked him into kicking his soccer ball into the opened storage shed. Cringing, he listened to several ensuing crashes and prayed that his grandfather wouldn't notice.

Back inside the house, Kun-Loon giggled watching her daughter quickly grab a large yellow backpack she had bought for her and stuff most of her favorite outfits inside, as well as most of the sweatshirts and pants that she owned.

She couldn't help but shake her head at the last part, knowing her daughter was rather self-conscious about her body thanks to her trips to the feudal era. After Kagome had turned eight, she, Takeo and Souta remembered Kagome's trips to the past, the scars that she accumulated there had started to appear on her body seemingly out of nowhere and Kagome preferred to hide them sometimes around people she didn't know very well.

"Mom, do you know where my little suitcase is? I can't find it where I left it last..." Half of Kagome's body was under her bed, looking for her suitcase while her legs kicked lazily in the air. Laughing, Kun-Loon went into the hall closet and pulled out the little black suitcase Kagome was looking for.

"It's right here Kagome." The teen swiftly pulled herself out from under the bed and bounced up to her mother "Thanks mom! Now those cleats... where did I put them... Oh yeah" the rest of the evening went on in a similar way, with Kagome packing and Kun-Loon helping her out.

Pulling herself into bed, Kagome couldn't help but think. _I bet this is going to shock the wits out of Mamoru. _She then drifted to sleep with a soft giggle and a smile on her face.

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End of chapter.

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**And that's chapter two all finished, let me know what you think about it so far by leaving a review. There's also a poll on my profile, so if you want another type of crossover, go vote! **

**Oh and just so you know, when someone in Japan stops saying -chan -kun -san at the end of another person's name, it indicates that they have a close relationship with that person. In this case Atsuko and Kun-Loon.**

**Let's just confirm this, Kagome and Endō are _friends _(best friends actually) sure if you guys want I'll through some fluff in there but that's it. No romantic feelings. **

**Before I forget, thank you so much for reading, reviewing, following and adding this story to your favorites. It gives me inspiration and I motivates me to keep on writing.**


	3. Chapter 3

Practice Makes Perfect

_Chapter three: Can I play?_

Morning came far too quickly for every Higurashi except Kagome (she thought it was an incredibly long night), she got up early to take a shower and get ready for the day. Kagome finished putting her hair up into her usual high ponytail, a reminiscent of Sango, and walked out of the shrine with her family in tow.

They were on their way to the train station on that bright Sunday morning.

Once they arrived, they watched amazed as Kagome hefted her huge backpack with ease and hauled the small suitcase like it was nothing, since she stuffed particularly heavy objects in there, they assumed it would weigh a lot...

Kagome checked her light blue t-shirt for any wrinkles and dusting imaginary lint off of her jean shorts. _I want to at least be presentable for Atsuko. _She smiled thinking of the woman she considered to be the aunt she had always wanted.

After paying the cab they took, they all went inside the station and said their goodbyes to Kagome.

"It's not going to be the same without you, nee-chan" six-year-old Souta mumbled, yelping when Kagome pulled him into an impromptu hug "I'll miss you too kiddo" she let go and ruffled his hair smiling all the way.

"Bye mom, grandpa. I'll call you when I get there" She hugged them both and grinned at their words of encouragement "Don't come back until you're the best nee-chan!" Kun-Loon shook her head "Visit soon dear" Kagome then left towards the train with a nod to her mother and a grin on her face, her white sneakers clicking all the way.

"Hopefully they won't be too busy today; I'd like to play some soccer with Mamoru before curfew"

The train wouldn't be arriving in Inazuma for another thirty minutes Kagome knew this from experience since she had gone there several times before. _Might as well have a little nap_. Curling into a comfortable position on her seat, she drifted into a light doze maintaining her guard up just in case.

Half an hour later she was already calling her mom on her cellphone, telling her she was fine and that Atsuko was picking her up from the train station.

Back at the Endō household, Atsuko was fussing all around the house for no apparent reason, to Mamoru at least that was what it seemed like. He sat on the couch watching his mother move around before yelling she was going on an errand.

"That was weird..." He said to himself, befuddled.

Atsuko pulled up at the train station minutes later and waved Kagome over when she spotted her. Kagome finished setting her things in the car; they left for Atsuko's home, soon to be Kagome's as well.

Mamoru was taking a shower when Kagome and Atsuko walked through the front door, unaware that either of them was there. So Kagome decided to be mischievous and crept up to his room passing the bathroom with badly suppressed snickers. She shut the door quietly behind her and listened for the sound of the shower running.

The shower head dripped until it was completely shut off; there was a small screeching sound as the shower curtain was pulled aside and Mamoru stepped out. He grabbed the towel he had set out and quickly dried himself, his hair only dripping slightly. _Mom's still on her errand then. _He thought as he wrapped the towel around his waist tightly, making sure it wouldn't fall before walking down the hall to his room.

Mamoru reached for the doorknob, unaware of what or rather _who _awaited him inside. Kagome tensed and readied herself to pounce once the door opened. The door creaked and swung open revealing a towel clad boy.

"Boo!" Kagome shouted not noticing her best friend's state of dress.

"What the heck?! AH!" Mamoru yelled back in surprise, falling on his rump in shock.

Kagome burst into a fit of giggles, still unaware of the lack of clothing on Mamoru. It was when she stopped laughing though that was when the trouble started.

Stammering and sputtering was heard and the two teens blushed red, both from embarrassment. "K-K-Kagome?" Still red-faced the girl nodded "Y-Yes Mamoru?"

His voice was higher than normal when he spoke "Can you turn around so I can change?" without a word Kagome pressed her face to the wall, her back facing Mamoru while he ran to his closet and pulled on his clothes.

Once his headband was on, Mamoru tapped on Kagome's shoulder "So what's up?" having gotten over the little incident, Kagome gave him a very sneaky grin "Well~ I'm going to be living with you from now on, isn't that cool?" She wasn't expecting to be pulled into a bear hug but she returned it as best as she could with her arms squished to her sides.

"That's great! We can play soccer together every day now! Are you going to school with me?" he whopped happily when she said yes. _Hey, maybe she'll join the soccer team... _Nodding to himself he prepared to ask her about it.

"Ne... Kagome, want to join the soccer team at school? We're don't have that many members yet and it's kind of hard to make the team practice so I have to go practice on my own a lot" Kagome was well aware about what method Mamoru used for practice and while she did patch him up after it, she knew he did it to be stronger and better to be able to master his grandfather's techniques. And who was she to say anything about his training? Her own was not exactly good for one's health.

_Or height for that manner._ The girl laughed to herself, though she cringed at the thought of being short for the rest of her life.

"Sign me up, you won't have to worry about them not practicing anymore, I'll make sure they get in at least thirty minutes of training everyday possible." She nodded sagely, her eyes taking on a sinister glint thinking about ways to get some practice into the boys' schedule.

Edging away from Kagome seemed to be a good idea for Mamoru at the moment.

"So then, could you show me around a little more? I want to set up a bigger and wider route for training tomorrow." Mamoru tried to remember the last time he helped her set a training route; his legs hurting and being incredibly thirsty was what he remembered the most (other than having to be carried back by Kagome) so he made a mental note to bring a few water bottles with him later.

"Ok, we can go now if you want to, we have to get back in time for dinner though" Kagome made a small sound in understanding "Okay let me go get my stuff" before she walked out the door she turned to Mamoru with a serious look in her eyes "Bring some water with you this time, I don't want you in the hospital because of dehydration" the teen laughed sheepishly and agreed.

After quite a few hours going around town and marking a few key places with a small amount of her aura, the two teens decided to make one last stop to Steel Tower Square before going home. Kagome dropped her bag at the base of the tree where a large tire hung from and opened it up to reveal numerous types of attachable weights, each one black and weighing over ten pounds. Mamoru grimaced at the sight of it, wondering how she carried that all around the city without breaking a sweat.

A pair of eleven pound wrist weights and leg weights was snapped on first, then twenty two pound forearm weights and ankle weights until finally she had a total of 66 lbs. worth of weights on. _And that's about... 30 kilograms right? _She hummed and grabbed her soccer ball and stopwatch to begin her training for the day.

Mamoru finished tying a tire to his back quickly and readied himself to start his own training. _At least all the pain pays off. _He reared the tire back with him as far as he could and launched with all his might, getting into a wide stance to be able to stop it.

Kagome crouched with her stopwatch securely wrapped around her hand and clutched in her fist, her thumb itching to press the start button. _Go!_

_Click._

And then she was off, running along the path she had set for herself earlier at top speed, the people and objects in her way providing her with a suitable obstacle course to either jump over or avoid. _The faces people make when I pass by are funny. _Still at the top speed she could achieve with thirty kilograms slowing her down (which was admittedly pretty fast) Kagome wondered about her renewed endurance and stamina.

_They came back at the same time my memories did. I can still do all the things Sango and Miroku taught me, just on a slightly smaller scale._

Realizing she was getting slower, Kagome forced herself to pick up the pace and test her limits. _Just a bit more and I finish lap 1. _

Going back to Mamoru, it was easy to see he was giving himself a beating with how hard he was throwing the tire; the rope holding it up was straining from the force of each throw. _I have to master all of grandpa's techniques. This is the best way to prep for them. _He continued to push himself harder, even after Kagome passed his spot once then twice and then once more, he continued with his ruthless training.

Lost in his thoughts, he forgot about the tire that was now heading straight for him. The impact echoed through the surrounding trees, and that of quick footsteps rushing towards Endō's spot on the ground.

"Mamoru!" Kagome dropped her weights and ran to him, her eyes scanning over the damage inflicted on his body. There was already a bruise peeking out from under his headband and his cheek was bleeding slightly. Muttering a few choice words under her breath, Kagome hefted him up and walked over to the tree where she had left her bag. She kneeled and carefully moved Mamoru from her back so that he was leaning against the trunk while she took out a water bottle and her handkerchief and cleaned his bleeding cheek and scraped hands.

_His hands are probably just as beaten as he is._

Sure enough, after she removed his gloves there were angry red marks and beginnings of bruises forming all over his hands. Evidence of just how hard he had been pushing himself.

After she finished disinfecting his cuts, Kagome pressed her now glowing hand to his forehead, the wounded area lighting up and slowly healing along with the rest of his injuries. Endō's hands glowed as well while they were being healed.

"Thanks Kagome" He shifted and turned his brown eyes to meet her own grey-blue colored irises, his eyes were shining with gratitude. With a playful huff, Kagome mussed up his hair, laughing when he whined about it.

"Just be more careful next time"

Mamoru grinned sheepishly "I'll try"

The next day Kagome woke up bright and early in her new room, previously the guest room. She followed through with her usual morning routine, taking a shower, changing into her new uniform and then going downstairs to help out making breakfast.

"Ohayō Atsuko!" the woman looked up from the pan and smiled "And good morning to you too Kagome-chan" She flipped the omelet in the pan once before placing it on a plate with rice balls on the side.

"That looks yummy, need any help?" The older woman thought for a moment then nodded "Could you go ahead and make your lunches? Mamoru's always complaining about not having lunch most of the time"

The two then set to work, one finishing breakfast while the other made lunches for her and Mamoru.

Upstairs, Mamoru was just getting ready for the day stretching his stiff limbs and clambering out of bed and to his closet. There he pulled on his uniform while yawning loudly, rubbing his eyes to get rid of the remaining sleep. He tied his usual headband on and then made his way downstairs, his mouth already watering at the smell of breakfast.

"Good morning Mamoru" Kagome greeted him from her place on the table. The bento she made stacked neatly on top of the other, the purple one being hers and the orange one was Mamoru's lunch. The teen was practically drooling when his plate was set in front of him and so he wasted no time in scarfing down his food.

Atsuko shook her head at her son's table manners. _I wonder just _who_ he got them from. _She thought sarcastically to herself.

Minutes later they were out the front door on their way to school with their backpacks slung over one shoulder and their duffle bags over the other. They filled the silence with excited chatter until they reached the school; Kagome gulped nervously at the sight of the building looming ahead, her mind racing with possible scenarios in which she could make a fool out of herself in front of the whole class. Mamoru gave her hand a reassuring squeeze as if sensing her discomfort "It's going to be fine Kagome. The only real mean people here are the members of the tennis club..." he shrugged.

"Thanks Mamoru. Hey are girls even allowed in the soccer team?" She saw him freeze and think for a moment "Yeah, I think they are, don't worry though 'cuz you're a really good player. Do you still practice your hissatsu technique?"

Kagome nodded, her eyes on the school they were approaching "Well it's not really a technique so much as it's an idea for one, I just have the concept for it. Whenever I try to perform it, the shot ends up deflating and losing force before it even makes it halfway." Mamoru made a noise of understanding and dragged her inside of the school, ignoring the curious stares of the other students. They went straight to Mamoru's classroom where their teacher was arranging his notes on his desk up front.

"Sensei! This is the new student we were going to have, where's she going to sit?" The man looked up from his papers to Kagome, giving her a welcoming nod then turning back to Endo "The empty seat next to yours is fine, do you two know each other?"

A wide grin spread on both teens' faces and the teacher just knew they did, no other proof was necessary. _Hopefully they're not too much alike, I don't need another Endo here, and I can barely handle him as it is. _The bell rang and the students that had been outside the room began filling in.

The teacher walked up to the board and wrote down Kagome's full name and city of origin. Clearing his throat, the man motioned for Kagome to step up to the front of the classroom "Class, this is Higurashi Kagome; she came from Tokyo to study here." Kagome bowed politely "Nice to meet you all, I hope we get along well."

"That will be all Higurashi, take a seat" and with that the class began. Time seemed to fly by to Kagome, who was getting introduced to everyone thanks to Mamoru. By the end she had already met a few members of the soccer team and their manager, a girl called Kino Aki who was very into soccer.

It was when Mamoru took her to meet all the other members that her mood began to go sour.

"Everyone! Let's go practice!" Silence greeted Mamoru and Kagome after they walked through the door so he decided to say it again "Hey, time to practice!" Once again nobody said a word in response.

Kagome looked around the room, spotting very different team members left and right. Two were focused on a video game, one appeared to be practicing some sort of martial arts, another was reading manga with the one in front of him just lazing about and finally there was one eating a bag of chips.

_They're a varied bunch, that's for sure._ Kagome shook her head, amused.

"Come on guys, we haven't been at all practicing lately" a teen with pink hair turned to look at him "Did you manage to reserve the field this time?" Mamoru faltered slightly "I was thinking about making a deal with the rugby club-"

"That's what I thought" came a knowing voice from the boy reading manga; he didn't even bother to look away from it. Then the kid playing a video game spoke up "We'll only end up being laughed at by them again" The boy reminded Kagome of a chestnut with his hair style.

"Or they'll tell us that the tennis courts will be enough, since we only have seven members" The teen next to him finished, his orange afro-like hair covering most of his face.

The discussion continued on in a similar way, each member piping up with another excuse until Kagome had enough.

"That's it! You guys are the soccer club. You're supposed to be jumping for a chance to play!" She turned on her heel in a huff, storming out of the room without another word.

"Kagome's right, we have to practice if we want to enter the "Football Frontier" tournament this year!"

"We can't play in a match with just seven members" Kurimatsu grounded out.

Mamoru bristled "There are eight members in our team now" all the boys looked at him curiously, waiting for him to continue "Kagome, the girl that just walked out requested to join this team. I've known her for a very long time and I know she loves to play soccer"

He paused and looked at the members in the room "Didn't you join this club to play soccer? What kind of soccer club doesn't play soccer?!" he followed Kagome's earlier example and slammed the door shut behind him.

"What's gotten him so riled up?" Handa Shinishi, the guy that was reading the manga questioned.

Someoka Ryuugo rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly "It doesn't matter now if we practice or not. I heard this club will be disbanded soon"

**"DISBANDED?!"**

"Endo-kun! Kagome-chan!" Aki waved while running towards them.

Kagome turned around to greet her "Oh, what's up?" the girl frowned "Sorry I couldn't borrow the fields for us" Mamoru shook his head "It's not your fault" Aki looked around with a puzzled expression "Where is everyone?"

Kagome replied with a disappointed sigh "They're all cooped up inside"

"Should I go make them practice?"

"It's okay, they'll want to play again sooner or later" Mamoru tried to assure her, but she wouldn't have it "Then I guess this means you two are going to the riverbank?"

Kagome smiled "Definitely. Those elementary kids are really good players"

Later that day found Aki, Kagome and Mamoru by the riverbank with a bunch of kids playing soccer together. Each of them having fun teaching the children there how to perform different techniques.

"Alright, pass it now- no not there! Ok, now shoot" Endō called out to the children from his place as the goalkeeper.

"Here I come! Hey!" a boy yelled when the ball was stolen from him in a well-placed cut performed by a little girl in pigtails.

Mamoru gave the girl a thumbs up sign "Nice cut! Now go for the net!"

Watching from the sidelines was Kagome; having been playing for a long time was taking a break and cheering the kids on.

"Yeah, go Mako!" the girl, Mako grinned at Kagome before kicking the ball with all her might, only to be caught by Endō.

"What? Blocked again?" She frowned in disbelief.

"Now you change positions" Mamoru gave them new places and assigned positions while Aki and Kagome watched on. Mako came to the spot on the bench Kagome was sitting at, tired and thirsty.

"That was a very good move you pulled out there, good job!" Kagome patted the girl's head affectionately "Maa... You should get back in there nee-san, you're the only one here that can actually get the ball past Endo-nii-chan"

Nobody noticed the white-haired boy watching them from up the hill that divided the river from the field or the two punks striding beside the field or else they could have avoided kicking the ball in that direction.

The ball zoomed past one of the punks' head and they both whirled angrily toward the field "Which one of you little twerps did that?!" The tall one with light brown hair shouted, his fist waving in the air. Mamoru ran over to apologize.

"I'm so sorry about that. Um can we have our ball ba- aah!" he clutched his stomach in pain; the short teen that kicked him snickered.

"Oi we don't want any trouble, just give us back our ball." Kagome gave them her fiercest glare before crouching down next to Endō to help him up "Oh you mean this ball?" the tall one sat on it with a smug smirk until he noticed their uniforms. With an even wider smirk, the one that kicked Endō grabbed hold of Kagome's shirt collar "Huh? They're from Raimon middle school. The one with the weak soccer club that barely has any members"

The silver-haired boy narrowed his eyes, ready to interfere if things got worse. He didn't like the way the girl and the boy were being handled, people like those punks disgusted him.

Growing even more mad than before, Kagome slapped the hand holding her collar away with so much rage swirling in her eyes that the guy backed away a bit "H-How about showing them what a real kick looks like, Yasui-san?" the teen, Yasui stood up from the ball, smirk still plastered on his face.

"Fine with me" he reared his leg back and kicked the soccer ball with extreme force though his balance faltered and he fell right after.

"Mako-chan! Move!" the ball flew towards the little girl with amazing speed.

Just as it was about to reach her, the ball was kicked and redirected back towards Yasui, hitting him right in the face with a painful smack. The boy that had kicked the ball away landed softly on the ground with a withering glare towards the two troublemakers.

"We'll get you for this!" the short punk took his partner and ran off.

Mamoru stood up with a little help from Kagome and they both walked over to the boy.

The first one to speak was Kagome "Thank you so much for your help!" She bowed and went around him to Mako, turning the girl this way and that to make sure she was not harmed.

_She's like a mom. _The boy thought, amused. Mamoru started asking the boy what school he was from and if he'd like to come practice with them after school. He was ignored though and the teen left without speaking once.

Mamoru got a nice surprise when he got to school the following morning. Standing there at the front of the class was the same guy he and Kagome had met yesterday wearing the school uniform.

They were already seated when the teacher walked in with a new student close behind him, Endō's jaw dropped and he stood up "EH?!" the boy merely blinked, otherwise ignoring the sudden outburst.

"Endō sit down already. Everyone, this is Gouenji Shuuya. He came from Kidokawa Seishuu academy."

The bell rang a few hours later signaling their lunch period was beginning. Mamoru, Aki and Kagome were the first to approach his desk.

"Hi! Sorry about not introducing ourselves yesterday, my name's Kagome Higurashi, nice to meet you Gouenji-san"

"Likewise"

"My name's Mamoru Endo, I'm captain of the soccer team and I'm the goalkeeper. Hey, would you like to join?" Aki and Kagome had their fingers crossed hoping he would agree, but instead...

"I don't play soccer anymore" He looked away, staring out the window instead of Mamoru, who was looking quite confused.

Before he could ask anything else, Handa came running with a worried look in his eyes "Endō! Fuyukai-sensei is looking for you. He wants you at the principal's office."

Mamoru furrowed his brows "The principal's office?" Handa gulped "It seems they have something important to tell you; I have a bad feeling about it, maybe it's about disbanding the club..."

Kagome blinked in surprise, unsure if she had heard him correctly. Mamoru reared back in shock "D-Disbanding?"

Aki glanced uncertainly at them before speaking "I've heard about those rumors too" she chewed on her lip. _But I was hoping they were just that, rumors. _

"Don't joke around with me! I am not going to let them disband our club!" Mamoru stomped off in anger, his fists clenched at his sides.

"I just hope it isn't his mouth that gets the club disbanded" the others silently agreed with Kagome's statement.

"Kagome-chan, why's Endo-kun carrying that sign everywhere?" The girl glanced at Aki then continued to watch Mamoru "He's advertising our need for more members, we'll be playing a friendly match against Teikoku Academy"

_How did she know all that?_ Aki vaguely considered the idea of mind-reading.

"Well Mamoru turned around just now and I read the sign so no, I don't read minds Aki-chan" Realizing Aki was looking quite stunned, she elaborated "You know you were thinking out loud this whole time, right?" Aki laughed nervously, beads of sweat running down the back of her neck.

"I'm going to go ahead and help him out, you can go get the others if you want to" with that she stood up from the steps she had been sitting on and dusted her skirt off "Hey, should I put on the uniform? You know, to make a better advertisement?" Aki tapped her chin in thought "That's a good idea Kagome-chan, do you want me to accompany you to the restrooms?"

"That would help a lot, seeing as I don't know where they are..." They giggled and walked back inside of the school.

They came back out a few minutes later with Kagome fully dressed in the club's uniform, cleats and all, and decided to go find Endo and the rest of the team their separate ways "See you in a few Aki-chan"

"Good luck finding new members"

They parted with a smile and a few waves. Once Aki left, Kagome took the time to really examine the outfit and found she really liked it from the light yellow t-shirt, with blue sleeves and collar, to the matching blue shorts. Her socks were white, and her cleats were dark green. All in all, she deemed it a cute ensemble, but she wouldn't tell the boys that, lest they want to change it afterwards.

She found Endo trying to get members of the basketball club to join or consider joining so they could play against Teikoku the next day. She decided to step in when one asked how it was that the soccer club was still intact.

She put on a bright smile and grabbed Endo's shoulders to take him to the next club "We should get going now, right Mamoru? Thank you for your time, bye!"

"Maa Kagome thanks for the help. We can ask more people now" they went from club to club, some being ruder than others. Like the tennis club, which shot tennis balls at them till Kagome got a hold of the sign Endo had and started whacking the balls right back at them.

"We're not getting anything out of this club, let's get out of here!" Kagome ducked and nodded in agreement, allowing herself to be dragged away with great speed.

_Speed... I wonder if they have one of those here... Oh what were they called? _While she racked her brain for answers, they went to two more clubs: the kendo club and the sumo club.

It was after they left the sumo club that Kagome finally remembered the name of the club she was looking for.

"Mamoru, does your school have a track club?" the boy had been slumped in defeat straightened up with eyes shining in determination "Yes we do and we haven't gone there yet so let's go!" for the third time that day, Kagome let herself be dragged around the school.

They arrived at the school's track fairly quick and they looked around for any of the members. Mamoru saw aqua-colored hair and recognized the boy immediately.

"Oi Kazemaru! Over here!" Kagome watched the teen look up from his stretches and jog towards them, his ponytail flopping up and down behind him.

_He's kinda cute... _

"Ah it's you Endo, can I help you with something?" Kazemaru glanced at the girl beside Mamoru curiously and tried to remember where he had seen her before. _Wait a minute; she's the new student... I can't remember her name..._ Oblivious to his thoughts, Mamoru placed a hand on Kagome's shoulder; the movement drew Kazemaru from his thoughts in time for introductions.

"...maru this is Kagome Higurashi, one of my best friends and a member of the soccer club. Kagome, this is Kazemaru Ichirouta, a good friend of mine on the track club." Happy with the way he introduced his friends, he moved onto a more pressing matter.

"Kagome and I came here to ask you to join the soccer club"

"Soccer, eh?" he crossed his arms mulling over the request. Kagome continued were Mamoru left off "You see, we're short on players and tomorrow we have a match against Teikoku Academy. If we don't have enough players by then, the soccer club will be disbanded" There was a tint of sadness lacing Kagome's tone, as well as disappointment.

Endo couldn't help but remember all those times when they were younger that Kagome wasn't allowed to play soccer just because she was a girl, some boys even going so far as to call her a freak for being a girl that liked soccer. Now that Kagome had the opportunity to play and show off her skills, she was going to lose it. _That won't happen_. Mamoru's resolve hardened and he was determined to convince Kazemaru, if not for him, then for Kagome and the rest of his team.

"Hey Kazemaru, didn't you say you wanted to play against first-rate players? If you want to join, come by anytime! Me and Kagome will be practicing at Steel Tower Square after school" Endo turned to go back to the other clubs before adding "Oh and it's ok if you go there straight instead, well see you there!" and he was off to find more willing members.

"When I said first-rate players, I meant in athletics..." Kazemaru stared at Endo's retreating form in something akin to awe.

"He's like that sometimes but he is a really good person. Please consider joining the team, Ichirouta-san" Kagome gave him a bright smile before she took off after her best friend.

_I'll think on it Higurashi-san._ Seeing nothing else needing his attention, Kazemaru went back to stretching.

"Ask me again when you're short of one player" Megane droned and his request took Mamoru by surprise.

"When I'm short one?" He couldn't really understand the bespectacled boy's reasoning.

"Yes, then the one who will save the weak soccer club will be me, Megane. Doesn't that sound cool?" the boy left, chuckling to himself about his ingenious plan.

"That guy's weird, Mamoru" The teen looked at his best friend "Yeah, I know Kagome."

Minutes later they were confronted by a deep blue-haired girl with a notepad and a pencil in hand "I'm from the newspaper club" she adjusted the red glasses on her nose and stared them down "Regarding the match against Teikoku academy, do you have any comments?"

"Comments? Oh yes!" Mamoru shook his head positively and the girl readied her pencil "Yes, What is it?"

"Uh... Yeah, could you help us advertise this recruitment?" she nearly fell over, not expecting that as an answer.

They had been running around for a very long time and they never even noticed that they were being followed by three boys of the soccer team... and a guy with a pink and blue striped hat who wanted to join their club.

Aki found them crouched behind some bushes watching Kagome try to recruit members of the rugby club into the soccer club.

"Are you okay with this? Didn't you join the soccer club because you wanted to play soccer?" Kabeyama, Shishido and Kurimatsu looked at each other nervously.

"What does Raimon Soccer Club mean to you exactly?!" She demanded with her hands on her hips.

"M-Manager..." the boys stuttered, drops of sweat forming on the backs of their heads.

Thinking they had finally grasped her concept, Aki's eyes shined with happiness and clasped her hands hopefully under her chin "Do you finally understand?"

Kurimatsu was the first to speak "You sounded exactly like captain" Aki twitched.

"I think so too" Shishido mumbled out, making Aki unstable on her feet as she twitched again.

"Captain's influence must have worn off on you." this time Aki really fell over, Kabeyama affecting her balance with his words.

After club activities were finished, Mamoru took off towards Steel Tower Square with speed Aki didn't even know he had.

"Ne Kagome-chan, why's Endō-kun in such a hurry?" Aki nibbled on her granola while Kagome finished tying on her dark blue running shoes and weights "I think he wants to get there before any possible recruits show up, I'll be following after I run my first lap around most of the town." knowing the girl was staring at the weights strapped to her, she explained it was part of her training.

"You must really like soccer Kagome-chan" she spoke with awe in her voice.

"It's my favorite sport besides Archery"

After she finished placing her uniform inside her bag, the girls bid each other goodbye and went their separate ways. _Maybe I should just run half the course; I want to be there too if any new members show up. _So she ran the course she made for herself at top speed unknowingly passing Kazemaru, who was on his way to meet Endō.

_Was that... Kagome Higurashi just now?_ He blinked at the quickly fading girl "She's fast"

Five minutes later Kagome finished running half a lap of the route she had set for herself and walked to where she knew her best friend was at.

"Mamoru if you're beating yourself up again with your training, you better stop right now or start paying attention to the darn tire!" just as she finished speaking, she was knocked down by aforementioned boy who was sent flying by the tire hitting him straight on... again.

"Oooh what did I tell you about the tire?" Her head throbbed and Kagome groaned when Mamoru finally got up and offered her his hand. She took it without even thinking about it.

"Sorry Kagome, are you hurt?" seeing her friend was worried, Kagome flashed him one of her signature bright smiles "I'm fine Mamoru, just a little tired from the run, ya know?" He nodded.

"Do you think you're going to need some patching up this time?" Mamoru laughed turning his back to her to go back to his training "It's going to take more than this to really hurt me!"

She rolled her eyes good-naturedly at his words and felt a smile twitch the corners of her mouth.

"Did anyone show up while I was gone?"

"Gouenji did but I don't think he was here to join" the small frown on his face made her wonder what had happened between them but she left the matter alone... for now anyway.

Since she had other training methods to complete, Kagome started stretching _with_ the weights on and she wouldn't take them off until she finished with her training for the day.

Oddly enough, the girl felt as though she was being watched but discarded the thought after a while. Her training consisted of complex dribbles and she used the surrounding trees to weave through them as if they were opponents. This was to help her agility when surrounded by opposite team members or when she had to pass the ball after avoiding having it stolen.

The only problem was that after constant movement of her legs and feet throughout an extended period of time she was completely tuckered out. Not to mention the fact that she still had the weights on.

_That's what this is for, to help me get better and be of more use on the field! And if I can get my hissatsu shot just right, I could help out even more._

She stopped when she noticed a spark of yellow out of the corner of her eye. _Was that...?_ The resounding thump of a person hitting the ground sent warning bells off in her head.

Mamoru landed flat on his face with a painful splat "Ow, _ow..." _

"That's some messy special training" Said a voice from above him.

"K-Kazemaru?" he nodded and helped the other boy up. Hearing footsteps approaching, both teens turned to see Kagome coming up to them with a smile "Mamoru, you're going to mess up your face if you keep doing that" she turned to Kazemaru "Hi, I'm glad you decided to come Ichirouta-san"

"Eh... Higurashi-san, are those... weights?" the aqua-haired teen stared uncertainly at the weights strapped to her body.

She blinked "Hm? Oh I almost forgot about them. I guess I can take them off now" one by one the different attachable weights strapped to her fell to the ground with loud thuds indicating just how much they really weighed.

"You two sure do some weird training..." Kazemaru felt a large bead of sweat run down the back of his neck just as the last weight fell off of Kagome's wrist.

"Yeah, we got it from that" Mamoru pointed at a rather worn light grey notebook set on a bench beside their duffle bags.

Kagome grinned while the boy tried to read the scribbles on the pages with quickly growing confusion "I can't read it" he admitted still staring at the battered notebook.

"Don't worry, Mamoru and I had a hard time reading it the first time too" She chuckled at his expression.

"You can _read_ this?"

"Yeah, we can read it. The technique to stop a shoot is written in there." Endō explained lightly with a small smile, Kazemaru's eyes widened and he made a small noise of surprise "My grandpa wrote it"

"Your grandfather?"

"Mmhm. He passed away before I was born and he used to be Raimon Soccer Club's coach a long time ago."

Mamoru looked at Kagome, her silent form worrying him "He wrote that notebook on special training back then"

"Teikoku Academy's speed and power are far above that of an average team, which is why Mamoru wants to completely master the techniques in that notebook to be able to block their shoots. That notebook has helped me out too, thanks to the writings in there I was able to somewhat create my own hissatsu technique, even if I haven't really developed it"

Kazemaru pondered on the girl's words for a moment "You're serious about defeating Teikoku aren't you?" both teens in front of him nodded and he couldn't stop the smile spreading on his face as he extended his hand out to his future captain "Eh? What?" Mamoru blinked, confused.

"I'll join you and that spirit of yours." Mamoru grasped his hand with enthusiasm shining in his eyes "Thanks Kazemaru!" He nodded and turned to the people he knew had been behind them "I'm joining, what about you guys?" Kagome could only watch perplexed as one by one, the whole soccer team appeared before them. _How long have they been standing over there? _She had the sneaking suspicion that they were the ones that she had felt spying on them before.

Mamoru couldn't have been any happier in that moment. HIs whole team asked to train with him, each accepting his somewhat brutal practice regimen with open arms.

_My team is awesome! _Endō grinned, passing the ball to his equally smiling teammates.

_~The day of the match~_

"Minna! I want to introduce someone to you. He's joining today's match at last minute, his name is Matsuno Kuusuke."

It turns out that the boy who had been following them yesterday ended up joining the team, Kagome had thought he looked vaguely familiar but then again she had only seen his hat out of the corner of her eye. _I like that hat..._ She thought with her eyes straying to the pink and blue striped hat in question.

"You can just call me Max if you want to. When I saw your captain, I thought joining this club would relieve me of my boredom."

The rest of the soccer team got a very dubious expression at the boy's words and Someoka couldn't help grumbling "Boredom? This match isn't for playing around you know" Mamoru rubbed his neck nervously at the tone of voice Someoka used.

Max only smiled "Don't worry. Even if I've never played soccer before, I'm handier than I look"

"But even with him we only have nine members... wait is Higurashi playing too?" Handa shivered feeling a heated gaze piercing his neck. Kagome could only sigh when she spotted the boy beside Handa.

"It's _ten _members..." the whisper-like voice startled Handa "... Eleven if Higurashi-san plays"

"S-Sorry, I didn't notice you." the brunette stuttered out uncertainly.

"Kageno also joined the club today" Mamoru grinned at the long-haired boy.

"It's fine. I came here because I want to become a man with a more visible existence" A dark aura seemed to surround Kageno as he spoke and the rest of the team felt beads of sweat form on the backs of their necks.

"Hey wait, is Higurashi-san really going to be playing or not?" Kabeyama wondered, probably thinking out loud but it did pose a great question for the club, depending if Teikoku had a problem with a girl being on the team or not.

"Of course I am, by any means necessary" The boys tried to figure out just what exactly Kagome meant by that.

Half an hour later found the team anxiously awaiting the arrival of their opponents, each of them eager to start the match.

Mamoru turned to speak to the girl beside him before blinking in a bemused way upon realizing she wasn't there "Has anyone seen Kagome?" apparently no one had noticed that the girl slipped away, each of the boys thinking she was still standing beside them while they waited.

"Eh? Where'd she go? She was here a second ago..." Kurimatsu scratched his cheek, obviously confused.

Aki paled "Oh shoot! I was supposed to take her to the bathroom so she could change into her uniform"

"I almost forgot Higurashi was a new student, she doesn't know the basic layout of the school yet, does she?" Mamoru felt a bit guilty at Handa's words, since he hadn't really shown her around on her first day. _I guess I kind of forgot._

"Shouldn't someone go look for her? Teikoku could get here at any moment now."

The ground rumbled and shook the schoolyard and ominous clouds gathered overhead, darkening the school and its students while they watched with growing apprehension a large bus-like vehicle approach their school.

"_Speak of the devil, they're already here." _Someoka grumbled under his breath though nobody could hear him over the sound of the oncoming bus.

Dirt and smoke rose off of the ground and clouded the large vehicle and the students who watched on had to strain their eyes to see the door opening, expelling mist that clouded the emerging figures even more.

Among the people watching was a young woman who looked to be little older than Kagome, though unlike the rest of the students she was observing from the principal's office along with an older man who looked to be in his early fifties.

Two rows of black uniform clad boys trotted out of the bus, a red carpet being rolled out as the got into position on both sides of it, each one with their foot placed over a soccer ball and their arms in a saluting form at forehead height.

After them came the team Endō and his club would be playing against, each member looking smug and fierce as they stepped out into the school.

"So that's Teikoku. Impressive." Mamoru nearly jumped ten feet in the air when he heard the voice from behind him, easily identifying the owner "Where were you Kagome?" He pointed at her form with suspicion written all over his face.

"I sort of got lost on my way back here from the bathroom so I had to ask a senpai for assistance and that got me sidetracked since he just would not stop teasing me..." Kagome pouted.

Mamoru decided to leave the matter alone for the moment in favor of going to greet the other team; he jogged up to them with a grin on his face. Once he reached them Mamoru introduced himself to the one leading the powerful team, a boy with sandy brown hair in dreadlocks that were pulled into a ponytail with blue and grey goggles hiding his eyes from view.

Aside from wearing the Teikoku soccer uniform that consisted of a deep green t-shirt that had vertical red stripes running down the length of the sleeves and matching green shorts he also wore a red cape tied around his neck.

"I'm the captain of Raimon Soccer Club, Endō Mamoru. Thank you for asking for a practice match against us." the other teen seemed to be looking around, probably ignoring Endō as he did so. "This is our first time on this field. Would you mind letting us warm-up a bit?"

"Ah, go ahead."

The field was soon a flurry of movement with Teikoku pulling off fearsome kicks and dribbles, succeeding in their goal of intimidating their opponents with their speed, strength and agility. They watched in astonishment as a silver-haired teen with an eye patch seemed to disappear suddenly.

"Wha...?" Mamoru almost couldn't believe his eyes when the same boy reappeared in front of a soccer ball that had been all the way across the field from his previous position.

Kagome watched the proceedings with wide eyes, clearly just as surprised as the rest of them "That guy's fast." The whole team continued to observe, the tension growing higher by the minute.

The boy Mamoru had greeted first analyzed them carefully and his eyes flew to the orange band around Endō's upper arm, marking him as captain of the team. A smirk grew on his face and with a snap of his fingers, two of his teammates passed a ball to him, the ball already moving at great speed with the force of their kicks.

He kicked it into the air with an even wider smirk, jumping after it and sending it speeding towards Endō. The ball was barely caught by him, the sheer strength of the shot burned his hands and pushed him back while he stopped the ball and he couldn't help but to drop it to examine his hands.

"Captain!"

"Mamoru!"

Worried cries from behind him snapped him out of his reverie in time to look at the assembled team in front of him. Endō clenched his hands, ignoring the pain and grinned, a bright yellow spark forming when he struck them together. Beside him, Kagome shook her head in amusement even though she worried over him.

"Now it's getting interesting!"

End of chapter

**Wow, I wrote exactly 8,000 words! **

**I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter, I worked really hard on it and I'd like to know what you think about it so please review :)**

**Aside from that, feel free to ask any questions you have about the story so far by either reviewing or PM-ing me. I check my mail often so I'll reply ASAP.**

**Now that that's over with, I'd like to thank _Suzume Batchii Taichi_ for her lovely reviews and the anon _Jessica_for reviewing as well. I hope both of you liked this chapter.**


	4. Chapter 4

Practice Makes Perfect

* * *

_Chapter four: Their first game?_

_._

They were all nervous, that was no secret. Heck, some of them were even _scared _of the other team but they would not run away. At least Kagome and Mamoru thought that to be true.

"I'm all fired up! Guys, let's show them the fruits of our one week's training!" it was hard not to smile at Mamoru's enthusiasm even when it concerned facing such a powerful team like Teikoku, but it seemed like everyone besides Kagome managed to do so.

_**"What?!" **_Kurimatsu and Shishido exclaimed simultaneously, sweat forming on their brows.

Kabeyama seemed to fidget uncomfortably "A- um... Hold on Captain!" Endō turned his head to look at him "What is it?"

"I... need to go to the restroom!" the large teen ran off without waiting for a reply, leaving his team standing in the dust.

"Oi, Kabeyama!" Mamoru tried calling him back but was interrupted by the other team's captain, Kidō Yuuto. "What are you going to do? Even with that guy, you only have ten members" Kagome fumed, seeing his amused face turn to her only to falter "Oh? You're playing too I'm guessing, my mistake." the boy's teammates snickered.

_Why that little... _Just as she was about to march up to give the smug boy a piece of her mind and probably take his ego down a peg or two, she was lightly tugged back from her shirt collar by the aqua-haired teen behind her. He sent her a small smile "Don't let him get to you Higurashi-san, that's what they want after all." Kagome took a deep breath and calmed her temper "You're right, thanks... Ichirouta-san. You can call me Kagome by the way, it's ok." she offered him a smile of her own.

"Y-You can call me Kazemaru if you want to then." Mentally, he was throttling himself for sounding so foolish and asking himself: why in the world did I stutter?

Oblivious to their conversation, Kidō continued his questioning "So, where's your last player?" Mamoru was about to answer but he was once again interrupted, this time it was by Aki.

She waved and looked slightly out of breath as she ran towards them.

"Endō-kun, he said he wants to join!" behind her was Megane, the boy that had turned down Endō's offer the day before.

Kazemaru, Max, Kagome and Someoka watched in disbelief and a bit of uncertainty as the boy approached. Max spoke in a low tone "From what I heard, sports isn't really that guy's thing..." He didn't need to finish his sentence for his companions to catch on.

A large bead of sweat ran down Someoka's neck when he nodded "Y-Yeah..." The pink haired teen scratched his cheek. Kagome shook her head in bemusement.

Kazemaru wasn't even sure what to make of the boy.

"I'm Megane Kakeru, nice to meet you." He said while adjusting his frameless glasses.

Even though he knew about Megane's distinct lack of physical condition, Mamoru felt he could breathe a little easier at the thought of another member on the team. _We can do this! I know we can!_ Endō smiled and held out his hand for the other boy to shake.

"Nice to meet you too" Mamoru blinked in confusion, watching the other boy look around in all directions. He dropped his hand back to his side a few seconds later seeing as Megane was still deep in thought.

"It looks like I really am the last person, but I have one condition before I join the team."

Kagome sighed, her hand flying up to rub the bridge of her nose to relieve the headache she knew was forming. _It's going to be something strange... Like yesterday... _A deadpan expression began to grow on her face at the thought.

Megane's glasses gleamed eerily as he spoke "I refuse to wear any uniform other than number 10" The members that sat on the ground sighed in unison, obviously exasperated "Well, what do you think guys?" Kurimatsu had his head in his hands so his voice came off a little hoarse.

"A small loaf of bread is better than none at all." Shourinji Ayumu replied halfheartedly to his teammate, ignoring Megane's stiff demand of what that was supposed to mean.

"I see... then you've a deal!" Mamoru grinned widely when Kagome's laughter reached his ears, probably amused by the others' expressions.

Shishido looked out from under his orange hair with surprise written all over his face and Kurimatsu was barely able to sputter out "Are you serious Captain?!" Mamoru only nodded to confirm his statement.

"With me on your side, you've got a sure fire victory" The gleam of his glasses hid his eyes from view and Kagome felt a twinge of uncertainty hearing Megane's words. _This guy doesn't exactly reassure any of our chances at winning. Hopefully this won't end badly._

* * *

"The match hasn't started yet" The girl beside the older man hummed in agreement and looked up from the binoculars she had been watching the teams below from.

"Maybe they got scared after seeing Teikoku's demonstration" russet hued hair swayed as the girl shook her head, though she wouldn't be surprised if that was indeed the case since Teikoku was after all, very intimidating either on or off the soccer field.

The man merely gazed out the window, peering down at the school soccer club before speaking "I heard Teikoku destroys the loser's school. Who knows what they'll do to us if we run away from the match, let alone lose it" his words made the teen's brows furrow and she nibbled on her bottom lip in worry. In her opinion, doing a thing like destroying another team's school for losing a soccer match was completely unreasonable and uncalled for as well.

_I'm surprised no one has informed the authorities about this yet. Shouldn't someone be suing them right about now? _The possibilities surrounding that particular thought were very unsettling for the young woman.

"When that time comes, I will go and have a talk with them. Their actions concern me greatly." At the man's confused look, she elaborated "Why would Teikoku Academy be interested in playing against a weak soccer team like ours?" Then her eyes strayed back to the people below, her hand came up to her chin as her eyes narrowed on the other team "No matter how you look at it, the differences in abilities are only too obvious. Perhaps we will learn their true motive through this match..."

Silence permeated the room so its occupants didn't dare break it in favor of continuing to watch the interactions taking place on the field beneath them.

* * *

Back with the soccer team, its members stood there watching a man with shaggy light brown hair and glasses ran up to them with urgency "Endō-kun! Endō-kun, what's the hold up?!" the man stopped in front of them with a small scowl waiting for a reply.

"Fuyukai-Sensei, well, um... Kabeyama went to the restroom-" Mamoru tried to explain but he was cut off for the third time that day by the agitated teacher "Honestly, we can't let our guests wait any longer. Get a move on!"

"Understood!" Endō stiffened under the teacher's scrutiny and proceeded to speed off to find Kabeyama with the other team members not far behind.

"Oi Higurashi, you stay here in case he comes back!" Handa called back to the younger girl.

"Hai senpai!" Kagome gave him a small salute and a smile watching as he gave her a thumbs up sign before he too went inside the school.

And so Kagome along with Aki and Megane were left standing with their opponents in front of them, watching them like hawks would watch their prey. _Ok this is just getting annoying... and fairly creepy to be honest. _Aki mussed while she observed the other team.

Megane analyzed each member with cold calculating eyes as if through appearance alone he would be able to discover their strengths and weaknesses. Kagome was doing something similar but her body was facing the school with her back to them while she carefully inspected their auras one at a time; doing this helped her get a better understanding of the people she would be playing against and usually the way someone played was dictated by their personality alone.

_From what I'm getting, these guys are __**really**__ cocky and though it's not without cause, I'd love to get them all off of their high horse for a while. _Kagome knew her thoughts were somewhat (really) unrealistic but even in their stances they looked smug, not that she could see them at the moment but still...

"Oi Jimon, why do we have to play against a weak team like this?" a teens voice questioned, his tone clearly frustrated.

A deeper voice answered the guy "It seems that the Commander is interested in a newly transferred player in this school. He wants us to learn a thing or two about his abilities"

"Oh? I wonder who that would be..." Kagome could practically _hear_ the smirk in his tone.

Another voice joined the conversation, one she recognized to be that of the captain, Kidō. "He is not here yet." the statement was clipped, maybe even cold but Kagome had heard icier, crueler responses.

"He's not here? What do you mean not here! Weren't you the one who said we would see something interesting?" there was anger in the aura of the one who spoke, the same one who had begun the conversation in the first place, and it was also in his voice.

"I said he's not here _yet. _Be patient." came the stern reply of the captain.

"Eh? Are you saying that we can make some use out of him if we get him to join our school?"

"That's up to the Commander to decide, we need only to follow his orders. Failure is not an option."

The former time traveler bristled hearing the conversation behind her. _Could they... Could they possibly be after Gouenji-san?_ Her spiritual energy flared angrily as she processed the rest of what the other teen said. _Weak team huh? No, not weak just untrained. That's all. _Kagome knew her team wasn't the best but they were better off than quite a few. _And just who is this _"Commander" _person they keep mentioning? Their coach maybe? _It seemed a bit odd to the girl that they would refer to their coach as such but there were stranger things, so Kagome just let it be and didn't dwell on it any longer.

After a while, Kagome chose to ignore the stares of Teikoku's soccer team boring into her back and opted for searching for Kabeyama's energy signature in the school and all of the others to see how close they were to finding him. Apparently, Kabeyama was on the third floor and she detected Kurimatsu near him but the short boy's aura held... Fear?

_What the...?_

* * *

Endō and everyone else were running around the building like headless chickens trying to find Kabeyama, searching every restroom the school had and even most of the classrooms too. They had all gathered up in a hallway in the third floor when they heard a startled yell come from around the corner.

They saw Kurimatsu on the floor in front of a locker looking pretty shaken up. "The lockers! They haven't stopped moving since we got here!" just then the locker rattled madly from side to side, making the boy jump in fright "AH! IT'S A GHOST!" the others unconsciously took a step back and Mamoru gulped "Come on, a ghost can't make a dent like that!" He had seen what ghosts _could_ do thanks to Kagome but this was not one of those things.

He approached the locker fully intent on opening it "Are you in there Kabeyama?" the door burst open so fast that it threw Endō back on his rear and in the locker was none other than their missing teammate.

"Hello Captain. Hello... Hello..." the large boy's body had the locker dented outward and his stomach stuck out, which would be the reason for the locker bursting open so suddenly in Endō's face.

Max, Handa, Shishido and Kageno's jaws dropped in disbelief before they sighed out **"Kabeyama..."** They sighed at the same time. Mamoru stood up and walked back over to the large boy "What in the world are you doing?" He continued to walk up to the boy as he spoke, his expression disappointed "Hurry and come out, the match is starting soon."

"Um... Well... I'm stuck! Save me!" Kabeyama jumped up and down or at least tried but it seemed that the locker wouldn't budge. Kurimatsu shook his head "Then why not play soccer like that, you'd make an iron defense... just kidding"

"No way! I want to come out! AH!" the locker fell backwards with Kabeyama inside.

"Let me give it a try Captain!" A voice called from down the hallway, fast footsteps echoing as the person ran.

"Go for it Shouri!" The boy, aka Shourinji Ayumu, leapt into the air flipping twice as he did and with a powerful kick, he busted Kabeyama out of the locker.

The large teen sighed in relief "I'm out!"

With a wide grin, Mamoru praised the smaller boy; a kick like that shouldn't be left unnoticed. He felt a tingle rush down his spine and after years of experiencing it he knew what it meant. It was a strange feeling, one he always got when Kagome was within range when she was angry... or distressed.

"Time to go back guys."

**"Hai!"**

* * *

Minutes later found both teams lined up facing each other in the middle of the soccer field with the referee between them.

Aki watched them from her place on a bench at the edge of the field, taking in the different players and their expressions.

"Ummm... Do you mind if I sit here to watch?" Aki looked up at the girl before her and smiled. Taking that as a yes, the younger teen sat down beside Aki and introduced herself.

"Hi, I'm Otonashi Haruna from the newspaper club. Nice to meet you!" Haruna held her small notebook up and poised her pencil in case she needed to jot something down.

Aki kept her smile "Oh an interview, go ahead." Haruna nodded and looked back at the teams before she spoke "So you've finally gathered enough members, have you? That's a relief." Aki giggled, "Yeah."

Haruna leaned in "And?" Aki blinked in confusion "And...?" She asked curiously and Haruna continued "Any confidence in winning?"

The older girl tapped her chin in thought "Well in my personal opinion... no" Aki admitted sheepishly.

"I knew it!" Haruna wrote a few things down and stopped when Aki spoke up again "But when I look at Endō-kun and the others... I feel that we _can_ win. I can't help myself from thinking that even though our soccer club still has far to go"

Haruna stared at her in amazement "That is so cool~! I'm going to use that comment for the article!" with that she began furiously writing in her notebook and Aki felt her face redden "H-Huh?"

"We will now start the practice match between Teikoku Academy and Raimon Junior High!"

The girls quieted down at the referee's announcement and turned attentive eyes back to the field.

"Both captains please choose a side of the coin" The man instructed but Kidō walked off on his side of the field "Kidō-kun, the coin toss-"

The captain kept walking however "There's no need, they can start first." He said without sparing the referee a glance.

Kazemaru's eyes narrowed on the smug teen, clearly put off by the boy's attitude. He heard a small growl beside him and his eyes shifted to see Kagome glaring at the other team's captain; he was surprised the girl could make a sound like that.

Being the only girl on the team, Kagome knew it was going to be rough for other schools to actually acknowledge her skills but she wouldn't let that stop her. It also meant that she would have to keep a leveled head while on or off the soccer field since it was more likely that the boys would get even more riled up in less time than she did. With that in mind, Kagome took a few deep, quiet breaths that she released through her mouth and unconsciously made her aura expand around her.

Once he saw the girl calm herself down, Kazemaru felt an odd sense of peace wash over him taking the irritation he had felt a few moments ago away. The sensation surprised him and he didn't really know where it had come from.

Haruna and Aki sat still as they observed the events progress when a boy appeared (seemingly) out of nowhere beside them. He had short black hair and glasses; he was wearing Raimon's school uniform. His hair and face were oddly angular and he had a sort of goofy smile plastered to him.

"It's a challenge!" he declared loudly into a microphone on a box he held in his hands "This is Teikoku's challenge to us, Raimon!"

Both girls looked up questioningly at the newcomer "Who are you?" Haruna asked.

"Hello, I'm Kakuma Keita from the chess club. Please remember me as Kakuma." He grinned "And today I'm here to provide everyone a play-by-play commentary of the mat- Ah! Now is not the time to be introducing myself! The ball is already in position, all it's waiting for is Raimon Junior High's kick-off."

Megane grinned widely "What a nice feeling! It feels as though I'm a celebrity!"

Kurimatsu felt the opposite thing and he was almost shaking as he said, "You guys are so relaxed, I'm so nervous, I could die!"

"Alright everyone, let's do our best!" Mamoru encouraged while he took his position as the goalkeeper.

The sound of a whistle being blown sounded through the field and the match started with a kick-off from Megane.

Mamoru had asked Kagome to stay on defense for the first half of the match and Kurimatsu gladly switched places with her to go sit next to Aki and Haruna. He was glad Kagome asked him to switch, to be honest he felt like he was so nervous that he would be screwing up the entire duration of the match, he didn't mind getting a chance to calm himself a little before he actually had to play.

_"It's finally started! First is Someoka, he passes the ball to Matsuno and charges towards Teikoku's goal!"_ Kakuma shouted excitedly into his microphone.

Matsuno was quick on his feet and avoided having the ball stolen from him by passing it back to Someoka, grinning when the other teen managed to lift the ball into the air with him using his heel, leaping over two of his opponents that had slid on the ground to take the ball. The action surprised them and they were left on the ground to watch Someoka speed off towards the goal.

"I'm awesome, I just might be able to score." The pink-haired teen said to himself while he ran. Kazemaru caught up and ran next to him smiling "Someoka, pass me the ball." a short member of the other team ran up to Someoka, fully intent on taking the ball but before this could happen, Someoka quickly passed it to Kazemaru "Here!"

"Okay!" the boy took off at surprising speed with the ball, determined to make it to the net.

Kagome cheered her teammate on and Mamoru chanted softly to himself "We can do this, we can do this!"

_"Kazemaru is approaching steadily!" _Kakuma said, his eyes never straying from the field.

Before he could make it to the goal though, Kazemaru's path was blocked by a creepy brown-haired bespectacled teen. He glanced to his left seeing one of his teammates and passed the ball "Take it Someoka!" Seeing he was going to be surrounded, Someoka passed it to Max, who managed to weave through a few opponents before passing the ball in a high kick to Shishido. The boy jumped and stopped the ball with his chest, letting it drop to his feet and running off soon after.

Unfortunately he was cornered before too long "Senpai!" Handa looked up as the ball headed his way and smirked, letting it pass to the person behind him; Someoka.

Kakuma beamed beside Aki _"Nice move Handa! Behind him, Someoka lines up for a goal shot!"_

Leaping into the air, Someoka sent the ball spiraling in the net's direction. The ball whizzed past a few astounded defenders as the goalkeeper widened his stance.

Haruna watched on with anxiety and joined Aki in crossing her fingers and keeping her eyes wide open, each girl not wanting to miss a single moment. Kakuma was just as excited, a grin stretched widely across his face and his eyes stayed glued to the ball that was quickly going towards Teikoku's goal. Kurimatsu stood up on the bench in his excitement, nearly bursting into loud cheers.

Mamoru watched ecstatic along with Kagome and the rest of his team, all of them ready to shout "GOAL!", when the ball made it to the net.

Time seemed to slow down for everyone when at the last possible second, the goalkeeper somersaulted to the right and effectively caught the oncoming ball in his gloved hands. Needless to say, they were all left in shock. Slackened jaws and wide eyes were all around Raimon's soccer team. Kurimatsu dropped down onto the bench he'd been standing on, clearly disappointed with Aki, Haruna and Kakuma plopping down next to him seconds later.

The red headed goalkeeper smirked and tossed the ball towards Kidō "Kidō, this is where my job ends, isn't it?" The captain's expression mirrored his own and the teen's goggles gleamed as his lips curved upwards exposing his teeth in a dangerous smile "Yeah..." The ball bounced over to him, Kidō calmly placed his foot over it and kept it there "Let's show them how Teikoku plays soccer."

On the other side of the field, two teens shared a meaningful look and prepared themselves; Mamoru spread his legs apart to remain rooted to the ground and held his hands ready in front of him, meters away from him was Kagome preparing to defend the net with Kageno and Kabeyama. Tension was building up and it was starting to strain the spectators while they waited for Kidō to make a move.

"Go." Kidō ordered with a swift pass to Jimon who was standing a few yards in front of him, the tall adolescent followed his captain's command with pleasure. The ball was sent rocketing to Raimon's net at an incredible speed, making a direct path to the center of it. It reached Mamoru in no time at all and the boy was barely able to close his hands on the ball for a moment before its force slipped from his grip and slammed against his chest, knocking the wind out of him while sending him flying back into the net he guarded.

Kagome gasped, paying no attention to the blowing whistle or the fact that the scoreboard had been changed to 1 - 0 in Teikoku's favor, and ran towards Mamoru before the dirt that had risen in the air settled. "Mamoru!" She found the teen on his hands and knees coughing from both the dust and the blow to the stomach. Endō made a face and let the concerned girl help him to his feet as his other teammates arrived in a hurry.

"Endō!" Handa was the first to reach them, followed closely by Kageno and Kabeyama. Mamoru bowed his head in shame "I'm sorry guys... I-I couldn't stop it..." Handa shook his head and cursed, "Damn it, there's nothing we can do against a quick counter like that!"

Kagome crossed her arms and looked at each of them sternly, now was not the time to be pessimistic. "We can and we _will_ do something about it. Don't tell me you're giving up, the game has barely started!" The boys looked at her, befuddled, but nodded. Mamoru smiled a bit, thankful that his best friend was there to support him and his team. He clapped his hands together once, garnering their attention.

"Let's give it our best shot, everyone!"

Kazemaru panted for breath on his side of the field, at some point he had switched places with the only female member in the team and ended up in defense while she stood as a midfielder, against Mamoru's wishes. The first half had yet to be finished but they were starting to get desperate. There wasn't a single team member that hadn't been hit harshly by the ball in any part of their body, most of them suffered the brunt of the other team's offensive techniques. Teikoku was purposely beating them up and they knew it.

The aqua haired teen stood up straight from his previous bent over position and dragged his tired feet over to the bench on the outer side of the field. He dropped down on the dirt after the shrill cry of the whistle filled the air and he did his best to ignore Kakuma's announcement of the current score, which stood 10 - 0 in Teikoku's favor. He was soon joined by the rest of his team, some more exhausted than others. His eyes strayed to observe as everyone fell on their rumps, forming a half-circle in front of the bench, their hurried intakes of air revealing just how tired they all were.

Kagome hauled a cooler out from under the wooden bench and passed water bottles around with the help of Aki and Haruna, both of the girls were staring worriedly at the members of the Raimon Soccer Club. Once everyone had a bottle, Kagome allowed herself to sit down on the ground with the rest of her team. They would had five more minutes at least left to recuperate before the second half began and they had to get back on the field again.

Odds were against them on this one, but Endō refused to believe it, he refused to give up even if things weren't looking good on his end. And so when the whistle blew again to signal the start of the second half of the game, Mamoru jumped to his feet and ushered the rest of them to do the same. Most groaned, whining in discomfort as their muscles stretched uncomfortably, but nonetheless followed their captain onto the field with the exception of Shishido, who traded with Kurimatsu so he could play (the small teen didn't want to however) and now sat on the bench with Aki and Haruna.

The team hoped they would fare better in the second half, they weren't sure just how much longer they would be able to withstand Teikoku Academy's fierce soccer team.

* * *

**Aaaaaaaand IT IS DONE!**

**Chapter Four is finally finished!**

**I apologize for the **_**horribly**_** long wait and really hope that you may forgive me for that.**

**I started the next chapter too and started re-watching the first few episodes of Inazuma eleven too. Hopefully I can get a better grasp of their characters so I can write better.**

**Thank you so much for rev****iewing! ****Suzume Batchii Taichi****, ****LovelyShuu****, ****xx-BlackXRoseXLust-xx**** and the anon, Guest. **


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